The Eyes of the LORD
I don’t know how many spy movies you’ve watched or detective books you’ve read, but in this age of electronics, I am pretty confident we are all familiar with bugging devices. Whether a politician, a business person with strategic ties or serving in a particular security unit, everyone has to be exceedingly careful of what they say when entering a strange setting, for these tiny but highly sensitive microphones can be anywhere. Such awareness will make anyone think twice before they open their mouths.
Yet, the omniscient God we serve hears everything we say and sees everything we do at all times. Hebrews 4:13 says that “all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” In other words, God saw Noah in the ark, Joseph in prison and David with his father’s sheep. He saw Hezekiah on his sick bed, three young men in the fiery furnace, Jonah in the whale, and Nehemiah inspecting the walls of Jerusalem at night. He saw Nathanael under the fig tree, Peter on the rooftop, Herod on his throne, Lydia by the river-side, Paul in the storm and John on Patmos.
This puts yesterday’s scripture from Proverbs 15:3 into perspective — the eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The word used for keeping watch is translated as scope in Greek and comes from skopos, as in a distant mark looked at, a goal or end. As it implies mental consideration, it can be translated as contemplate, look into, examine, inspect, continue to regard closely, notice carefully or pay attention to. As scope is used in the present tense in Proverbs 15:3, it implies that God is continually watching closely over all his creation. A truth that Peter repeats in his first letter: For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. This is both comforting and sobering – comforting because God stands ready to deliver us when we are in trouble and sobering because he sees the evil and the good.
GRACE CHALLENGE FOR THIS WEEK: We read in 2 Chronicles 16:9 that the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. How encouraging to be reminded this week that as committed disciples, the eye of the Lord is both a glory and a defence and that nothing that happens to us will ever catch Him unawares! May it inspire us to search our hearts more diligently, repent more easily and think twice before we utter a word.
